The British heartthrob, who has starred in the Sherlock Holmes franchise as well as ‘Anna Karenina’ and ‘Contagion’, recently dropped in to Yas Marina Circuit, the home of the UAE’s annual F1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

As fans snapped the star on their mobile phones, Law buckled into an open-cockpit Yas Supersport SST - a mini version of Le Mans endurance vehicles - for hot laps around the 5.5km track.

“Jude was bowled over by the entire experience - he was a natural racer,” said a Yas Marina Circuit insider. “He was a disarmingly nice guy and was very courteous to everyone - especially Abbas Al Alawi, his instructor.